5m mental health sick days taken in 2026

According to the provider's analysis, 24 March, 2026 – the 58th working day of the year – will see the estimated total number of sick days taken this year hit 5.07 million. Its survey of 2,000 UK working adults found that 30% of all employees experienced anxiety or depression in the past year. A further 25% reported stress or burnout in the same period. Those who took sick leave for anxiety or depression in the past year had taken off an average of 7.1 days. Those with stress and burnout took 5.9 days off over the same period. While younger employees were more likely to take time o...